Trainer aircraft crash kills pilots

A Cessna trainer aircraft crashed into a residential area near the old Begumpet airport minutes after take off on Monday morning, killing the pilot Neeraj Jain and pilot trainee Srinivas, reports Ashok Das.

A Cessna trainer aircraft crashed into a residential area near the old Begumpet airport minutes after take off on Monday morning, killing the pilot Neeraj Jain and pilot trainee Srinivas.

City police commissioner B Prasad Rao said that the aircraft belonged to the Andhra Pradesh Flying Club and met with an accident shortly after taking off from the Begumpet airport around 11AM. It crashed into a small lane at Fatehnagar, sending panic among the residents.

Eyewitnesses said that the plane landed with a thunderous noise and fell apart before hitting the ground.While one wing fell on a house damaging it,the remaining portion hit the ground and turned into massive ball of fire, incinerating nearby trees.Luckily there was no human casualities on the ground.

The sound and the intense heat caused panic among the resident for some time. Residents of homes close to the crash site ran away from their homes fearing that the burning plane may implode. But their fears were proved futile and after sometime they came back to their homes.

Police sub-inspector Ravi Kumar, who reached the spot within half an hour said that both the pilot and the trainee were seriously injured and were alive for some time after the crash.

“I along with the local people tried to save their lives by removing them from the debris but we could not do it because of flames and they died after some time, still bound by belts to their seats”, he said.

While Neeraj Jain hailed from New Delhi, the trainee Srinivas belonged to Hyderabad. Police as well officials of the Indian Air Force reached the site and took up investigations.

The police said the cause for the crash could not be ascertained immediately and a proper inquiry would be conducted.